Tag: 2017

This was the year of discovering a bunch of family-centric stories that quickly moved their way into my heart. There’s something about these quietly moving portraits of contemporary life that affect me most of all. In total there are seven stories I’d like to feature on my favorites of the year:

“It came, over and over, down to this: What made someone a mother? Was it biology alone, or was it love?”

I joined a bit late to this hyped up party, but once I started reading Little Fires Everywhere, it didn’t take too long till I couldn’t put the book down. Centering around a a memorable cast of characters whose lives intersect in complicated and sometimes surprising ways, while grappling with nuanced notions such as motherhood, interracial adoption, racism, and so much more.

Nothing in the book is ever done without intention; every detail has meaning. And it was a pure pleasure, watching the author click everything into place. I highly, highly recommend giving it a read just to experience it firsthand from the source. In the meantime, I went ahead and read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng because I cannot get enough of her exquisite character studies.

This here is another family-driven read that kept me dazzled from start to finish. In all honesty, Zevin had already won over my adoration earlier this summer when I read The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. Naturally, I was beyond hopeful with expectations to see what this one would hold in store.

Why Young Jane Young shines: The dynamic mother-daughter duo that was captured perfectly on paper. Like, when asked how Ruby came to be so wise, her answer gives it all away: “Books,” I said. “And I spend a lot of time with my mom.”

This sweeping multi-generational story explores mothers and daughters, stories told and untold, and the binds that tie four generations of women.

The fascinating thing about this book is that I was fully devoted to one particular generation, one particular love story:

“The extraordinary love story of Rochel Weinstein, the Ashkenazia from Mea Shearim, and Gabriel Ermosa, the Spaniol from Ohel Moshe, was the talk of the town.”

Something about the youthful years of Gabriel Ermosa had me head-over-heels unlike anything before. I was so utterly invested in his story with Rochel that I still, months after, feel it taking my breath away. I have yet to find a love story that can succeed at evoking such strong and real emotions out of me as that one did. It was a visceral reading experience. And I’m considering checking out the Hebrew version for my reread, so that I can revisit it in the original tone intended by the author, Sarit Yishai-Levi.

Featuring another outstanding Israeli book on my list, Letters to Talia details the extensive correspondence Dov maintained with Talia, a girl from an irreligious kibbutz in northern Israel, in 1972 and 73, the last two years of his life. Dov Indig was killed on October 7, 1973, in a holding action on the Golan Heights in Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

The concept of a secular girl from a kibbutz writing letters to a soldier/ yeshiva boy about Judaism, and consequently learning more about faith sounded almost too good to be true. But it wasn’t, all thanks to the many shared insights from Indig’s brilliantly thought-out and put-together letters that made me want to SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS. For readers that love to expand their horizons, I’d recommend this read.

I’ve yet to find a more hysterical and comical read than Scaachi Koul’s essay collection. Her subjects range from shaving her knuckles in grade school, to a shopping trip gone horribly awry, to dealing with internet trolls, to feeling out of place at an Indian wedding (as an Indian woman), to parsing the trajectory of fears and anxieties that pressed upon her immigrant parents and bled down a generation.

The true stars of the show are, of course, her parents.

Why her mother shines:

“My dad first saw her at his cousin’s house—my mom was her friend—and was flustered by her beauty. Ask my dad and he’ll wax poetic about my mother’s cheekbones, her rich eyes, her long hair, how he needed to get to know her. My mom didn’t even know he was there.”

Why her father shines:

“Papa ends most of his calls with me the way you might close a conversation with someone you want to menace. “Anyway,” he’ll say, “I’ll be here. Staring into the abyss.” Or, when I have given him good news, “The talented will rule and the rest will perish in the sea of mediocrity.” Or, when I have given him bad news, “I am sorry for everything that happens to you, as everything is my fault.”

Scaachi Koul with her biting humor is definitely one to watch for the future.

Set around a Russian-Jewish immigrant family in Toronto, Canada, I’ve never felt as heard and seen as when I read this book. Like I mentioned in my review, Natasha and Other Stories is home in literary form for me. Certain turns of phrases in this collection of interlinked short stories brought me right back to my childhood, and I haven’t gotten to experience that feeling with a book in a while.

Last but not least, I’ll end my list on the book that started off my reading year on a bang. I was in a state of pure bliss with Motherest. I recently went back to reread the review I posted in February, and I can’t stop thinking about how relatable this tiny piece of writing I included of the main character seeing the guy she likes:

“Hey.”“Hey.”I keep walking. He slows down a little as if to chat, and I move faster. I want to turn around so badly that walking feels like pushing through the heaviest revolving door in the world, but I keep going.”

Motherest deserves so much more recognition than it has received. The blurb describes the book best asan inventive and moving coming-of-age novel that captures the pain of fractured family life, the heat of new love, and the particular magic of the female friendship — all through the lens of a fraying daughter-mother bond.

This moving passage on adolescence and growing up captures it all:

“I want a friend. I miss everyone I’ve ever known. I miss Tea Rose and Surprise and Joan. I miss that part of my life that happened not so long ago but that already feels ancient, older than my childhood, and I do miss my childhood also, or at least the childhood co-created by my memory. I want someone who will always stay and never die and never leave and never turn into a ghost.”

That concludes all my favorite books of the year, thank you for reading! Be sure to let me know your highlights of 2017. And check-out my 2016 edition of my favorite books of the year.

November of 2016 introduced me to some of my favorite Nonfiction reads, so coming into it the following year, I was giddy with excitement for what’s in store. And Nonfiction November 2017 did not disappoint, thankfully.
In total I read 13 books, including collections of poems and essays, short stories, and graphic novels:

Favorite current listen:I discovered this podcast thanks to Meghan Hughes mentioning in her recent vlog a fascinating episode on coincidences (aka my favorite topic to discuss). I looked the podcast up online, went on to listen in rapid enthralment, and then checked out five more episodes consecutively in a single day. My curiosity was endless, and I found Hidden Brain best heard in a single uninterrupted sitting to get the most out of it.

The Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain’s host Shankar Vedantam reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, the biases that shape our choices, and the triggers that direct the course of our relationships.

We have carefully curated topics, impossible to predict from episode to episode, ranging from the correlation and causation of loneliness and social media (Prisons of Our Own Making), to the “catfishing” con performed in 1985 (Lonely Hearts), and the effects that happen to your mind and body after prolonged periods without sleep (Eleven Days Without Sleep).

I highly, highly recommend giving Hidden Brain a listen as soon as possible.

Special posts featured this month on my blog:I featured my first TV review on Netflix’s American Vandal, talking about why it’s the perfect show to binge-watch if you’re a fan of theories, conspiracies, and in-depth investigations. You can read my review in full here. Plus, watch the trailer below:

My reading picked up a lot more steam this month, compared to August that left me in quite a slump, thanks to many exciting September releases. I’m ecstatic to see what’s to come in the next reading season.
In total I read 10 books this month:

Honorable Mention:
Season four of Broad City was released earlier this month, so I finally decided to cave in and give it a go on a whim, thanks to Rosh Hashanah. I had seen the start of the pilot years ago, but quickly made my exit when I realized the introducing scene wasn’t my cup of tea. I then became convinced that the whole show must be on the same level of raunchiness as said scene and that, consequently, the comedy relied solely on showing non-stop sex scenes. I WAS WRONG, OF COURSE.

The series was created by and stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson as two Jewish American best friends who navigate everyday life in New York City. And I have to say that the direction the writers and actors took this show from season to season truly impressed me at every turn. I can’t believe my past-self thought Broad City would be overrated or overhyped, this is the one show that truly lives up to its reputation and continues to rise over and actively raise the bar of expectations.

Funnily enough, when I made the choice to give the series a go this month, I started from the season four premiere, which was unknowingly the best decision, because in it we have the origin story of Abbi and Ilana’s friendship back in 2011. I ended up binge-watching the show in just two days in reverse chronological order. Which I’m frankly glad to have done because the later episodes are one of my favorites.

Ya know, one day I'm watching the pilot. The next I'm starting the second season.

Plus, having read I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn, Allison Raskin, who share a very similar dynamic to Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, couldn’t have been more perfect right before watching the series. My fellow Jewish women are on top of their game, and I feel like a proud mother. Broad City is really the most taken back I’ve been by a TV show in ages. I’m pretty sure the last time I was this surprised was with Skamback in December.

So now is when I let the art speak for itself because I couldn’t even begin to encompass the brilliancy that goes on in the minds of those that deliver the iconic Broad City scenes time after time. The comedic timing is utterly and completely unique.